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“We used the Price Increase Action Plan to help us decide to increase prices, they gave us the confidence to do it. The price increase has led to a 33% increase in gross profit resulting in more profit in our business.”- Keryn Matthews - Restaurateur & Retailer

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“We used the Price Increase Action Plan to help us decide to increase beverage prices, they gave us the confidence to do it. The price increase has led directly to a 33% increase in beverage GP resulting in more profit in our business.”

Keryn Matthews - Restaurateur & Retailer

Together we’ll take your business from struggle to sky rocket!

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We used the Price Increase Action Plan to help us decide to increase beverage prices, it gave us the
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That price increase gave us a 33% gain in beverage GP resulting in more profit in
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Keryn Matthews - Restaurateur & Retailer

neXtep easy seems like fun for me, it’s like a dance with numbers.

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Email marketing is primarily aimed at leads who are qualified (they are aware of you and like your solution to their JTBD required outcome) but not yet ready to buy.

Email marketing is a more profitable B2B digital marketing channel than Linkedin, Facebook, SEO or AdWords.

Key Email Components

Mailing List

CRM software

Marketing Campaign software

Email Content

Mailing List

Your job executors of the job your product/service is supporting

At a minimum, the job, an email address and a first name

Your mailing list is stored in your CRM software

Building Your Mailing List

Sources

facebook ads to landing page

scraping LinkedIn groups

customers

referrals by customers

CRM Software

Your Customer Relationship Management tool.

a store of the details about your job executor, to help advise them

a store of the progress of the job executor through the buying and usage cyles

a store of details of other products and services used by this job executor

Marketing Campaign Software

Automates your email despatch.

Personalizes your messages

Uses rules to determine who gets what message

May or may not contain your CRM app

We recommend ActiveCampaign software as a most cost-effective sBiz solution.

Email Content

Subject (Header message)

Content

Image, infographic or video

Emotional pain point being addressed

Solution you provide

Call to action (CTA)

no more than 3-5 paragraphs absolute max

Benefits of Email

Time Inputs.

While it takes effort (time) to build your mailing list this is no more than time required for SEO while email marketing is really cheaper than Pay Per Click Ads (like Facebook Ads, AdWords or Linkedin Ads).

You have greater control on your email list than any other marketing channel that you can think of and this gives you great power to achieve amazing results. You have to learn how to use email well (trust me, it is easier than SEO) and you'll create a long lasting relationship with your customers.

Customer acquisition via email has quadrupled over the last 4 years.

Email marketing has been a growing trend in e-commerce, with an increasing number of retailers building communities and collecting email addresses, then converting those 'members' into customers.

Email campaigns are a successful way to target leads that have shown initial interest in your company. In fact, email campaigns are one of the top lead generation strategies.

Emails are fairly easy to craft. They are easy to send. And best of all they can be customized to each recipient using your B2B email data. A customized email really helps potential customers to feel they are important to you!

The key to crafting emails is to

Gather individual lead information

Learn what you can offer your leadsSend each lead an email that answers a business question for them.You become an expert giving them business Action Plan.

mike popalardo7 days agoI think the challenge is mobile functionality. Users are more willing to open an email outside of a desktop but less willing to get to a landing page to complete the transaction because generally it's a big hassle and time consuming when you're on a phone.

My former company sold services that would often exceed 1 million dollars. Typically, they were in the 50k to 150k range. We revolutionized our business by focusing heavily on valuable content creation and organic search. It got to the point to where nearly 80% of our business was coming from inbound website inquiries.

I believe effective inbound marketing strategies are even more important when dealing with very large purchases. Here are a few reasons why:

Length of Sales Cycle - Typically the more expensive a product or service is, the more time potential buyers spend researching it. Since a significant portion of research is conducted online, you have the opportunity to help shape their learning about the product and the industry. If you have a great presence in the organic search results, you will show up over the many months that might be involved in the procurement process.

Team of Buyers - When companies are spending a significant amount of money on a product or service they will usually have a team of people on the decision making committee. This could include subject matter experts, procurement staff, or general managers. If you have an effective organic search presence in your market you will be there when these other parties search for information on the topic. We often heard from our buyers that we were “everywhere they looked” for information on the topic.

Reputation - Reputation becomes more important on large purchase as well. If you have an effective content strategy then your company should appear when the potential buyer searches for information. This will help you establish trust. If you have a few articles on the subject in 3rd party publications that will help even more.

Competitors - The best thing about using these inbound tactics in high-dollar markets is that in many cases your competitors won’t see the value in implementing them. This might result in a less crowded market for keywords relevant to your buyer. This lack of competition will help with both paid and organic search efforts.

************Echoing Marcus's opinion to some extent, given that you're expecting clients to spend large amounts with you on products/services, then I think your marketing effort should not scrimp either.

Michael mentions reputation, and this is where inbound marketing really has a strength. It allows you to develop a stronger relationship and offer better service over the (typically much longer) sales cycle - and then maintain it far more effectively once that prospect has become a client

High-value sales may take a while to come through - months, and possibly years - but that doesn't mean the decision is last-minute, so make sure to give the most to every touch point you have, whether inbound or outbound. (And ideally interplay the two!) really has a strength. It allows you to develop a stronger relationship and offer better service over the (typically much longer) sales cycle - and then maintain it far more effectively once that prospect has become a client.

High-value sales may take a while to come through - months, and possibly years - but that doesn't mean the decision is last-minute, so make sure to give the most to every touch point you have, whether inbound or outbound. (And ideally interplay the two!)

Customers buy/hire your product/service to help them get their job done.

The outcome required from that job may be functional, or it may be emotional/social - or a mixture of these.

The nearer you can help them achieve perfect outcomes, the more likely they are to prefer your offer over other less satisfactory products/services.

The Price Factor

When a product or service has become a commodity - when it has many competitors offering the same value towards perfect outcomes - then price is likely to be a major consideration

When you satisfy outcomes better than your competitors, and therefore meet a need and deliver value, price becomes a secondary consideration

At that time you can charge a price that is just less than the perceived value, as seen by the customer.

Learning About Customer JTBD Outcome Considerations

Use quick and simple customer surveys to assess what is important to customers in getting their job done.

Consider how you can convert these key considerations below into competitive points of difference.

Key Considerations

Ease of use. This is the highest consideration for most customers. Do you remove uncertainty in use of your product/service? Through product and packaging design, do you reduce the need for a customer to have to think through a problem (you’ve created) or make choices?

Reliability. This is the second highest consideration for most customers. They need to know they can plan around what you bring to their own requirements. Can your customer depend on you in getting their job done?

Timeliness. This has two elements:

First is your availability to quickly respond to begin meeting their need.

Second is how quickly you can deliver the outcomes they require.

Communication. Do you give your customers advice on delivery schedules - even more important, on delays and revised schedules so they plan around you? Do you let them know when you have security issues that may affect them?

Relationship. Do you have an emotional rapport with your customers? Are you easy to get along with, can you talk effortlessly about issues? Are you and your staff able to quickly respond and fix any problems you cause them? Or do you and your staff give off an odor of indifference.

Knowledge. How well do you know your customers’ needs, their pain points and the benefits they are expecting to gain from working with you?

Skills. Can you demonstrate how your superior expertise and experience, your business capabilities, can help them get this job done better?

Productivity. Do you let your customers know how you have improved your productivity and passed on those gains to reduce prices?

Location. Do you offer convenience benefits due to the customer’s location?

High percentage of buyers ultimately purchase more than they expected. For instance, most new home buyers end up spending 1.2 times the base price of the home after extras. Builders bet on this upsell.

Homebuilders, car dealerships, steel fabricators

Loss leader

This model offers velocity items for a very low margin in anticipation of additional sales at a higher margin.

Gas stations, $1 menus

Long tail

Based on Chris Anderson’s famed 2004 Wired magazine article. Selecting a tiny niche and serving it in ways mass marketers can’t. Hopefully, the tiny niche grows into a much larger one, as it did in the case of Fat Tire beer.

Gives users access to technology and tools typically reserved for company employees. Users then create their own designs or versions of the product.

Cook-your-own-steak restaurants, Lego

Value-Added Reseller

Original product a business makes is resold by other businesses with modifications which add value for a specific market segment.

Subscription-commerce

Subscription-based, delivering products when and where they are needed. utilizing big data to predict needs and personalize products and delivery cycles.

Birchbox

Service Variations

Type of Model

Description

Example Companies and Products

Time-Based Fees

Creative customized solutions: Specialist knowledge base applied to a unique business requirement.Usually based around a small firm with high paid implementers.Process Solutions: service providers in a required procedure that contains specialist knowledge and core competencies delivered with minimal risk. Contains a mixture of skill and knowledge levels.

Price the most cost-sensitive item as low as possible and then charge for every little extra.

Airlines

Flat fee

The opposite of nickel and dime. Most or all incidental purchases are bundled into one fee.

Sandals Resorts, Southwest Airlines

Productization of services

Standardizing a predetermined bundle of services typically bought together and selling for a fixed price similar to a product.Many times it includes an element of flat-fee pricing as well.

A consultant charges $5,000 for a business plan analysis rather than charging $200 per hour.Prepaid legal plans

Servitization of products

Making a product part of a larger service offering.

Rolls-Royce sells aircraft engines, not as distinct components but as complete solutions based on aviation miles. All operations and maintenance functions are included in this “Power by the Hour” plan.

One-Off Experience

On-demand

Meeting customer demand for convenience and immediacy in return for premium prices.

Amazon Prime, Netflix hourly rate hotels

Data as a Service

Data is collected and then sold directly to a consumer or business customer.

Bloomberg

Automatic Insights from Data

Design to Build

Your organization is viewed as a general contractor. Delivery to the customer is based on a set of approved specifications.

Construction industrySoftware industry

Designed for Use

Design with greater focus being provided on assisting users of the solution.

Software industry

Designed to Succeed

Involves process re-engineering and change management, focused on how the solution helps the customer better support their customers

Software industry

Value-Based Pricing

Desegregated Specialty Module Service Providers

Full Solution Consultancy

Co-Aggregated Brand

Third Party

Type of Model

Description

Example Companies and Products

Advertising

Affiliate/Referral

Sale of a product by referral to a retailer in return for commission or other reward. The affiliate rarely takes ownership of the product (or even handles it).

see affiliate networks

Franchise

Sell the right to use the business model in exchange for a percentage of revenues.

McDonald’s, Holiday Inn, NFL

Collective

Similar to a franchise. Involves many businesses coming together for purchasing, marketing, or operational purposes but with looser ties than a franchise. Typically, collectives aggregate buying power and don’t pay ongoing royalties like a franchise.

Ace Hardware, CarQuest

Servitization of products

Making a product part of a larger service offering.

Rolls-Royce sells aircraft engines, not as distinct components but as complete solutions based on aviation miles. All operations and maintenance functions are included in this “Power by the Hour” plan.

Network effect

Create a product in which the value to each user becomes higher as more people use it.

Fax machines, social networks

Multi-level marketing

Leverage friends, family, and other personal networks to recommend products and act as a sales force. Works best for products needing recommendation to facilitate purchase.

Avon, Mary Kay, Amway

Complements

Type of Model

Description

Example Companies and Products

Razor and blades or Bait & Hook

Consumer purchases a low-margin item like a razor handle or inkjet printer. Sale of necessary consumables such as replacement blades or ink are sold at a very high markup.

Gillette, Hewlett-Packard printers, Kuerig coffee makers

Inverted razor and blades

Initial purchase has a high margin, but consumables are sold at a low margin to entice initial purchase. Contrast to razor and blade competitor

encourage your prospect to do business with you, as a leader in capabilities in the job s/he wants to get done.

assure Google conceptual search SEO ranking that you are offering value on the web.

Information Content - Establish Yourself as an Authority

We have spoken before about establishing your market niche, based around how you can help customers get perfect outcomes from the job they want to get done.

You can use your content, in whatever form of media, to build your authority in this niche.

Types of Information Content

Information Article

eBook

Newsletter

Case study

Video

Webinar

Slideshare

Industry research reports

An informational ebook—give your leads valuable information relevant to their business needs.A business newsletter—weekly or monthly newsletters can offer business tips and insider information to your leads.Blog posts—updated posts offer a great way to answer your lead’s questions in a helpful and interesting way. Blogs also offer a great way to get search engines to recognize your website.Videos—people enjoy dynamic presentations. Record valuable information in an interesting format and offer that to potential customers.Webinars—these informative videos let you teach, train, and spotlight experts in your field. Use these to your advantage.

Don’t be lazy and send a promotional message to your entire email list.

Tag those prospects who want to (ie have opted in to) receive promotional emails.

Segment lists into market segments that are much more focused - obvious ones like men and women, and others in your market - so you can build a laser-sharp campaign with subject messages that works just for them.

The single biggest problem for retailers is that of drug abusers who steal to support their addiction. They are persistent and may try to steal repeatedly on the same day.

They should always be refused entry to the store or escorted from the shop if found inside.

It is safer to do this than to try and detain them once they have stolen goods, as their behavior may become irrational or violent if their freedom is challenged.

Opportunists:

Many shop thieves are not regular offenders, but may be influenced by the opportunity, which presents itself to them at the time.

Retailers should try to ensure that expensive items do not present easy targets.

Thieves may steal on a daily or weekly basis, may be regular or long-standing customers and may mix purchases with stolen goods.

It is prudent not to take anyone for granted.

It will be difficult to prevent thieves stealing smaller and less expensive items, which are on open display – food, clothing, confectionery, cosmetics, etc.

Juveniles:

Young people are influenced by pressure from school or friends to join in stealing. They may also be bullied or coerced into stealing.

Groups of young people can present a particular problem and retailers need to try and manage them, perhaps by limiting numbers allowed into the store, insisting on an adult accompanying them or by excluding them at certain times – lunch breaks and after school.

Plastic screens in front of confectionery displays can reduce opportunities to steal.

Thieves who use children: Some people use children either to carry out thefts or to disguise adults stealing. Babies (both real and dolls) in prams can be used as decoys and to hide goods. Goods may be given to young children to walk out of the store with or they may place on the under-tray of the pram.

Mentally ill or disturbed persons:

A very small number of people who steal may suffer from a compulsive condition.

Other persons who steal may be suffering from other forms of mental ill health and retailers should always be conscious of the possibility that someone they are dealing with falls into this category.

Some elderly people may be confused or forgetful and it may be appropriate to either offer to help them when they enter your store or see if they have friends or relatives who can accompany the person so as to prevent misunderstandings.

Distraction Theft:

This is a method where a group of people will enter a store and distract staff to steal either bulk items or expensive goods.

In many cases, retailers will be unaware that they have been victims until later.

Some younger groups of distraction thieves may create a disturbance and become violent if challenged.

Professional thieves:

The increasing number of thieves who travel locally, regionally or nationally to steal from shops several times a day, every day of the week is a growing and serious risk.

They will steal large quantities of goods, mainly of high value, frequently work in groups and may resort to violence if caught.

Retailers may not be aware that they have been visited until they discover their losses.

Worse than the lack of prevention by employees, there might be the case of staff confusion, whereby retailers and other businesses would fall victim of collusive fraud and theft of goods and cash between staff and customers. Sometimes the staff will willingly work with friends and relatives, or they may be coerced into doing this. Thus, the challenge for retailers is both internally and externally.

Your business circumstances are often different to others, and so you can apply your own experience to the suggestions below

However, some issues are quite common to all business:

You have delivered a product or service to your customer and you deserve to be paid for it.

The longer it takes you to receive payment, the more at risk your business is from insufficient cash to operate. This is the biggest cause of business failure.

The faster you get your payment the faster you can invest it in more products to sell, or service capabilities. That is a key source of growing your business

Payment Days

The best option is pre-payment, either all or a deposit.

The second best option always is payment on delivery. (But not using the words “Payment on receipt.” according to studies by both Freshbooks and Xero.) With internet connections and delivery of service or goods with invoice there is no reasons why you should have to wait for payment - especially if your invoice includes links for immediate payment methods such as credit cards or PayPal..

Third best option is 7 days. Why do you need to offer more?

On average, clients pay two weeks late, regardless of the terms. So you can counter that by reducing your invoice period. (A Xero study based on 12 million invoices)

A Freshbooks study of their clients invoices showed business were paid faster when:

Their language was polite

They used the word “days” to pay instead of “net”

They advise late payment penalties apply

On your invoices, shows your terms (eg 7 days from date of invoice) plus what that means as an actual date (eg April 27, 2017) - make it as easy as possible for your customer to comply.

Payment Methods

Provide for direct payments where possible - credit card or PayPal

Include your bank details prominently on your invoice.

Charging Late Fees

Charge interest immediately on overdue accounts, a smaller amount for the first 15 days, then a larger amount for anything longer. Interest rates charged need to be at least as high as credit card rates to be taken seriously.

Charge a “convenience fee” for credit card payments

Invoice Faster

Invoice immediately after the delivery of the product or service. A study by FreeAgent showed invoices sent out within a week were ;paid on average in less than 5 days - waiting another week gave an average of 10 days. In other words the difference between sending out an invoice immediately and waiting two weeks can be (24 - 5) 19 days in getting your money sooner.

In marketing, a call to action (CTA) is an instruction to the audience designed to provoke an immediate response, usually using an imperative verb such as "call now", "find out more" or "visit a store today". (Wikipedia)

General Rules

CTA Buttons

Provide significant colour contrast between the CTA button, the page or popup background, and other elements on the page

Make your call-to-action state exactly what a user is doing, what their action will accomplish:

Yes Mrs. Peters we have. Well, aside from giving you that news, I wanted to follow-up your payment for Invoice No. 123?

Mrs. Peters

Haven’t I paid that already? The invoice for the skirts.

You

That’s correct, Mrs. Peters but what I’m following up is that of the formal gown, the one you wore for the February Ball?

Mrs. Peters

But I remember I paid for the tuxedo of my husband. That’s also for the ball.

You

Actually you have settled the tuxedo last March 10, however, remember you’ve requested to pay the gown by month’s end? Unfortunately, by that time, you went on a trip and have promised to drop by the shop?

Mrs. Peters

But I failed to go to the shop. Yeah, I remember now. Oh, I’m so sorry for that.

You

That’s okay Mrs. Peters. Perhaps when you visit the store for the new arrivals we can also have this invoice closed?

Mrs. Peters

Of course, Sandra. I will drop by this Saturday.

You

Will it be fine if I call you again on Friday?

Mrs. Peters

Yes, that’s fine. I’d appreciate the reminder, Sandra.

You

Thank you, too, Mrs. Peters and see you on Saturday. Good bye.

Additional Notes:

If a customer is forgetful, you need to make sure that you have a complete log and records of all his or her purchases and payments. Failing to do this yourself will cause complications later.

It is a good practice to reconcile with the customer once or twice a month depending on how much is his or her average aging invoices.

Aside from the usual collection calls, using other means to remind them of their payables will be helpful such as:

Sending e-mails

Periodic sending of billing statement via posted mail

Reminders via SMS or texting

Take care on sending reminders to customers though. Avoid “over doing” it unless you want your customer to feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable due to the bombardment of reminders no matter how forgetful they may be.

Yes, Mrs. Fields, I am Eleanor from ALL BEVERAGES. I just want to check if you got our billing statement for your January and February invoices?

MF

I did, Eleanor, in fact I do plan to call your office to discuss them.

You

Is there something we can do for you?

MF

Well, the store’s sales went down the past months after a new & bigger grocery opened nearby. Cash flow had been tight. Sales slowly picked-up in March though. However, I’m afraid I cannot afford to pay all my suppliers at once. I wonder if I can gradually settle my arrears.

You

Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your new competition, Mrs. Fields, although I am also glad that you’re slowly gaining back your sales. Your outstanding balance amounts to $1,000.00. Your March billing was already posted for $300.00. Can you settle the March billing and half of the arrears?

MF

I believe I can pay the March bill plus $300.00 of the arrears?

You

That would be fine. It’s already Thursday. Do you think you can make it Monday, April 10?

MF

Monday, April 10, is a good time. The check for $600.00 will be ready by then.

You

Good. By the way Mrs. Fields, how about the remaining $700.00?

MF

Is it okay for me to settle it by month end?

You

It is very much okay,

MF

Oh, that’s good for us. I am so glad for your call, Eleanor. I am sorry my payments got delayed.

You

And we’re glad you told us about your predicament and that we came to an agreement. We value our continued business with you. Thank you, too, for accommodating my call.

Mr. Robbins, I hope this is a good time. This is Mike from CARS UNLIMITED.

MR

Yes?

You

We were reviewing your records and it appeared you have a good payment track with us except for your February 15th due which remains unsettled? May we know what could be the reason for this?

MR

Oh, that? Was it the invoice amounting to $1,500.00?

You

Yes, Mr. Robbins, that’s the amount.

MR

Were you not informed that I’m disputing the invoice? Someone from your shop already called last February to follow-up. I forgot her name though but I told her about certain items that shouldn’t be charged to me. In fact, I even called her there to ask for the revised billing but I received no further response. It’s quite disappointing considering that I’m a regular customer.

You

I am sorry to hear about that Mr. Robbins. It’s quite unfortunate, too, that no mention of the dispute is indicated on our records. Perhaps we can start over by telling me what the disputed items were?

MR

Oh well, that last time I took my car there I had it cleaned, waxed, tire blacked and the breaks were checked. But I never requested for realignment. Neither did I buy break fluids and other accessories. You can check it with your mechanic.

You

I see now Mr. Robbins can I hold you for a few seconds while I check?

MR

Yes, I’ll wait

CHECK WITH THE MECHANIC

You

Mr. Robbins, thank you for waiting. I’ve spoken with our mechanic and he confirmed what you said. It seems the wheel alignment and other items were intended for another customer. We’re very sorry for the error on billing.

MR

You see. This is why I intended not to settle. I also didn’t like that it took up to this time for it to be checked.

You

I understand, Mr. Robbins. It is but right for you to delay payment pending settlement of the dispute. Your concern is important to us. This incident will surely allow us to improve our billing process. I will have the revised invoice sent to your office by tomorrow morning.

MR

I’m glad this will finally be resolved. I’ll issue the check immediately upon receipt of the revised statement.

You

That will be much appreciated, Mr. Robbins. As a gesture of thanks, your next visit to us for a car wash will be free.

MR

Oh, not necessary but thank you, Mike.

You

Again, Mr. Robbins, accept our apologies and thank you for the time given to us.

If you’re calling for the full payment of your services for my birthday party, I have no intention of paying.

You

Oh, I see. But Mrs. Pebbles, you did request for additional servings for fifty heads that time?

MP

Yes, I did. But that’s because I thought other guests will still arrive. It turned out my original count was enough.

You

However, Mrs. Pebbles, when you requested for the 50 plates, we did have them served. Did you give instructions to have it cancelled?

MP

No. But I assumed you’ve seen that the food is enough already. You should’ve confirmed with me again.

You

I am afraid that is not how we do things. When orders are placed, we immediately provide the service particularly in your case where the need was quite urgent for you at that time.

MP

Well, I stand by my decision.

You

I’m sorry if that is your decision. We do hope you’d reconsider up to the end of this month. As much as possible, we’d like to handle this outside of legal options. We’d still wait for your call by then.

This call reflects a real event, and was made by one of the Credit and Collections staff, Aiza, to one of our sub-dealers. These aren't the real name of the customer and her other details. I’ll use Mrs. Reyes.

This is to follow-up her outstanding balances pending for more than a year now. Aiza is new to this account.

We tag Aiza as “Aiza” and Mrs. Reyes as “MR”.

This is how it went:

Aiza

Good afternoon, may we know if Mrs. Reyes is there? Can I speak to her, please?

Other Party

Yes, she is here. Who is this?

Aiza

Tell her this is Aiza from BEST APPLIANCES

Other Party

Okay, wait, I’ll call her.

MR

Hello, this is Mrs. Reyes, who’s calling?

Aiza

Yes, Mrs. Reyes, Aiza from BEST APPLIANCES. I am calling to check with you regarding your outstanding balance with us worth $ 3,097.92.

MR

What about? I think I have reconciled that already with Lai.

Aiza

I’m sorry Ma’am but Ms. Lai is no longer connected with the Company for quite some time now. And as per our records, your balance is still outstanding. Your last payments entered on our system were received in cash for a total of $5,627.24 last October 26, 2015.

MR

Did it not settle my balances?

Aiza

The payments were applied to your latest invoices. From what I gathered, there were specific instructions on where it should apply.

MR

Well I didn’t know I still have unsettled accounts.

Aiza

Would you like me to send you a summary of what remains to be outstanding?

MR

Yes, I want to see what those invoices are.

Aiza

I will send copies to your office tomorrow. Do you have an e-mail? I can send the scanned invoices plus your Statement of Account.

By the way, Mrs. Reyes, once received, can I call you again tomorrow to work out your payments?

MR

I’ll review the invoices first. Maybe you can call in the afternoon.

Aiza

Is 2:00 p.m. fine?

MR

Yes, 2:00 p.m is okay.

Aiza

Okay Mrs. Reyes, after this, I’ll send the e-mail. Will call you tomorrow by 2:00 p.m. Thank you very much.

MR

Okay, thank you.

END OF CALL

ADDED NOTES:

Aiza and Mrs. Reyes reconciled the balances.

It turned out most of the unsettled invoices were for adjustments (e.g. returned sales, price changes, etc.) Corresponding updates on the system were done to close all of Mrs. Reyes’ outstanding balances.

This actual situation happened between a Supervisor, Ms. Geraldine, and a staff member, Ms. Teresa.

Management was reviewing each store’s collectibles and one of those looked into is employees with receivables.

This conversation concerns Teresa’s aging accounts receivable with the store (which incidentally has also been a subject of inventory variance by the store.)

Last October, Teresa bought an old stock of TV. She and two other staff (Brenda and Mylene) requested Von (also an employee) to have their items swiped using his card which Von agreed. By now, Von has already resigned.

Ms. Geraldine as MG and Ms. Teresa as MT.

MG

Hi, Ms. Teresa, can I disturb you for a while?

MT

Why?

MG

Remember the 24-inch TV you bought last year?

MT

Oh, that’s already paid

MG

It’s still floating on our records

MT

Ah, why? That’s part of the items we’ve swiped using Von’s credit card

MG

It seems this item was not included

MT

How come? As far as I can remember, I’m even done paying it to Von

MG

Can you remember what the other items are?

MT

I know there were three of us who requested Von. Brenda and Mylene; that was during October’s sale event.

MG

We already checked the records of Von but we cannot find anything about the TV.

MT

That’s your fault. What I know is that I am already paid. And why only raise it now. It’s been months...

MG

It actually appeared as part of our inventory variance before but since our manual documents showed that the sales order was named to you, we were given consideration pending the adjustment. Unfortunately though we overlooked this until now.

MT

That’s your shortcoming. Not mine.

MG

But since our manual records show that it was issued to you, we were instructed to properly issue it out on our system. Definitely, the amount will be under receivables. We cannot find any record that it’s been paid.

MT

But I told you, it was supposed to be charged to Von’s card before and that I already paid it to him so why would I pay it again?

MG

As per confirmation with Von, the TV set was not among the items included on the swipe. It seems you also need to confirm with Von if the amount of the TV was included on the balances you settled to him.

MT

Okay, I’ll confirm with Von. But I’m telling you, I am already paid.

MG

Please do. On our last telecom he already confirmed this wasn’t charged to his card so chances are he hasn’t included this on your balances with him. But we already transacted this on the system under your name Ms. Teresa for $50.00.

MT

That’s your call. But I will not pay it until I’ve confirmed with Von. In fact, since it took you so long to discover this and reconcile with me, I should not be paying you at all.

MG

I’ll just follow up again next week. If Von confirmed it’s not paid, we will collect the balance from you already, Ms. Teresa.

MT

Whatever?! Let’s just talk next week.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Per internal audit’s own confirmation with Von, the 24-inch TV of Teresa, although documented via a manual Sales Order (SO) was really not entered in the system and was not included on the items charged to Von’s credit card.

The amount of the TV was also not among the balances paid by Teresa to Von.

At as of this date, Teresa’s balance of $50.00 exists. She will pay this in instalment to our Main Store.

The fact that Teresa was able to bring home the television set without proper documentation is a separate issue with the store’s procedure. It is currently under review.

Contents

We use CLV as a tool to predict the likely revenue and profit from your future relationship with a customer.

Why Use CLV

When we use CLV we immediately shift our focus from considering customers as a one-off transaction to a source of ongoing revenue and profit.

The benefits of focus on long term relationships are profound. Consider the costs you incur in “buying” a new customer, your advertising, promotion and administration costs. Now consider SalesForce experience that shows a dollar spent on customer retention has 2.5 times the effectiveness of a dollar spent on new customer acquisition.

Consider also that loyal customers are your best source of word of mouth and referrals; and that most successful businesses count on up to 70 per cent of their business from referrals.

You are more likely to focus your marketing efforts on A and B Category customers who will reward you, and away from opportunistic Category C customers.

How to Use CLV

The normal method to consider CLV, is to calculate the expected average sales for a three year period, for customers in a specific category - consider a job to be done.

For each customer in that segment you are measuring their buying pattern over time to see if it matches or supasses the CLV profile.

If not, you can trigger a specific campaign to cross sell or upsell to that customer. And bring them back to their potential.

How to Improve CLV - Customer Retention

WindsorCircle claims their clients are seeing a 20% increase in CLV year-over-year, as well as an average retention rate lift of 17%.

They utilise a 9 part program to help with customer retention:

Know your customers

Get connected

Thank your customers

Amaze your best customers

Help your customers buy more

Save your churning customers

Create evangelists

Listen to your customers

Acquire retainable customers

Our clients are seeing a 20% increase in CLV year-over-year, as well as an average retention rate lift of 17%. Contact a member of our team to turn your customer data into an actionable lifecycle email marketing strategy and grow customer value for your business.

These are mostly apologetic but once able, they will pay right away.Work to have a payment plan in place, so you are receiving some return immediately and a commitment for the balance.You are looking for a win-win to maintain a good ongoing relationship.

Forgetful

Small business owners often have other areas of responsibility: family and business. A friendly call is all that is needed to remind them of the bill to pay.

Dissatisfied customers

Ask them to share their concern. Compromise or settle if necessary.Work to retain the customer - your want positive word of mouth. Document this feedback and improve on this.

Chronic late payers

This person is deliberately using your money to fund their own lifestyle or business. You need to decide how important their business is to you, considering the negative impact their bad practice has on your cash flow.Advise them of revised payment terms, including late payment chargesIncrease their prices (where possible) to cover your loss - 5-10%

No intention to pay

This is the type that is really difficult to deal with. It is frustrating. But the reality is, you are not getting paid. Stop all credit immediately.Taking a higher level of collection is needed (refer to collection via legal action or collection agency). Keep your cool and keep in mind this phone call is just the first step in the recovery process.

Read the entire Action Plan once - Read through this entire Action Plan set, watch any videos, download any resources. Don’t execute on the steps until you have finished reading the entire Action Plan. This will help you understand the progression of the steps and put them into context.

Complete the steps - This Action Plan is a checklist for the Activity. Each step builds on the next. Complete each step in order.

Lastly, here’s how to use the Action Plan interface.

Progress Bar - The Progress bar shows you the percentage of Action Plan Activity you have completed.

Action Plan Sections - Your Activity Action Plan is a series of How To steps that lead to the completion of activity and a result to improve your business - plus background understanding.

Arrows - Use the Arrow Buttons to open and close the Action Plan Sections.

Why Use ABC Categories?

ABC Categories are one of the most powerful tools you can apply to your business.

They help you focus on what is most important, the Vital Few versus the Trivial Many.

80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts.

You can get much more cash out of your business by making use of ABC Categories.

Inventory Example:

In many small and medium businesses with inadequate inventory management, it is not unusual for the average immediate availability of all items to be around 65% - in other words there is a 35% likelihood of a lost sale.

By applying the ABC Category method in a wholesaling business, we were able to:

Reduce cash tied up in inventory by $2 million.

Increase Cat A availability to 98% - a 50% increase in immediate sales

Increase Cat B to 90%

Increase Cat C to 80%

Customer Example:

Repeat customers are the major source of your business wealth:

80% of your future profits will come from just 20% of your existing customers.

Your loyal top 10% spend 3 times more per order than the lower 90%; and your top 1% of customers spend 5 times more than the lower 90%. - referralsaasquatch

“80% of companies’ marketing budgets are spent on acquiring shoppers; however, for every 1% of shoppers who become repeat customers, a company’s revenue will increase by about 10%.” –Adobe

“On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10x as much as their first purchase.”

B. Analyse Based on Sales Volume

There are some items you have that may not generate high profits but are still a major source of bringing customers into your store and then also giving you the chance to cross-sell to higher value items.

So use ABC analysis again, using the data you have already collected, as follows.

Analyse exactly the same as for Gross Profit Contribution, but this time using Revenue.

Any Revenue Cat A items that are not also GPC Cat A Items, are classified as GPC Cat A2 items.

The percentage of Cat B items is reduced by the items moving to Cat A2; similarly with any Cat C items.

C. Analyse Based on Essentials

There are some additional items you must have that may not generate any profits but still are a major source of bringing customers into your store, and then also giving you the chance to cross-sell or upsell to higher value items.

neXtep Business Builder Community Pte Ltd 201424522Z (We, Our, Us and other similar terms) takes all reasonable steps to implement processes and procedures for the management of Personal Information.

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information collected by Us in the course of providing services to Our customers (Users, You, Your and other similar terms) regardless of the source of that Personal and Business Information. This Privacy Policy is available on our Website located at the URL https://nextepeasy.com (Website).

Terms that are capitalised in this Privacy Policy, take their meaning from Subscription Agreement unless otherwise defined herein.

2. What We collect and how and why We collect it

2.1

Kinds of Personal and Business Information that We collect and hold
We collect a variety of information about Users and their businesses, including names, addresses, financial performance details, customer lists, supplier lists, employee and contractor details and any other data that Users may enter into their business’ accounting software (Personal and Business Information).

2.2

How We collect and hold Personal and Business Information
We may collect Personal and Business Information about Users and potential members via Our Website. We endeavour to collect Personal and Business Information about an individual only from that individual or an authorised representative. Information We obtain from third parties or publicly available sources is limited to circumstances where the person has consented.

2.3

Purpose of collection and use
We collect, hold, use and discloses Personal and Business Information to deliver and improve the services We provide to Our Users. Generally, Users are only obliged to provide Us with information necessary for Us to provide services to them. However, if Users do not provide Us with certain types of Personal and Business Information they may be unable to enjoy the full benefits of the Service or use of some aspects of Our Website.

3. Transfer and storage of Personal and Business Information

3.1

Transfer of Personal and Business Information
Personal and Business Information We collect may be accessed by employees and contractors of service providers who We engaged to provide services to Us. Personal and Business Information contained in a record may be transferred and held in countries other than including, but not limited to Singapore, Australia and the USA. We take reasonable steps to ensure that parties that provide Us with necessary services for website hosting and database administration services act in accordance with standard country based privacy principles and have signed undertakings for their staff relating to confidentiality. We also use only recognised service providers who use enterprise level software with up to date SSL Encryption.

3.2

Removal of Personal and Business Information
Unless otherwise required by Law, we only retain your Personal and Business Information for as long as You are a party to Our Subscription Agreement. Upon cancellation of Your Subscription We will store Your Personal and Business Information for a period of thirty (30) days’ and upon expiration of this period, it is erased.

3.3

Performance Metrics
Notwithstanding the above, We will store and utilise Your business performance metrics (BPM), as calculated by Us as we see fit. BPMs are anonymous and cannot be traced back to You or Your Personal and Business Information.

4. Access, correction and complaints

4.1

Accessing Personal and Business Information about You
If You are a User and would like to access or correct Personal and Business Information that We hold about You, please contact:

You will need to identify Yourself to Our reasonable satisfaction before We will provide You with Personal and Business Information about an individual which We may or may not have in Our possession.

5. Use of Cookies

This Website uses cookies to collect information about You. Cookies enable us to tailor Our service offering (including the Website) and to provide You with a better service. If You use the Website, then You agree that We may use cookies as set out below.

We use the following cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies.These are required for the operation of the Website. They include, for example, cookies that enable You to log into secure areas of the Website. They do not gather information about You that could be used for marketing purposes or remembering where You have been on the Internet.

Analytical/performance cookies.These allow Us to collect information about how You use the Website, such as, how You move around the Website and whether you experience any errors. These cookies do not collect any information that could identify You; all of the information collected is anonymous and is used only to help Us improve the way the Website works, understand what interests Our users, and measure how effective Our advertising is.

Functionality cookies.These are used to recognise You when You return to the Website. They enable Us to personalise Our Content for You, greet You by name, remember Your preferences, and improve Your visit.

6. US Customers

6.1

Personally Identifiable Information
We collect the following information about Users (Personally Identifiable Information or PII): Name and one or more email addresses.

6.2

Use of Personally Identifiable Information
We use PII as is stated in Clauses 2 and 3, above, with respect to the use of Personal and Business Information.We do not make PII available to third parties.

6.3

Browser “Do Not Track” Signals
We do not honor or react to “Do Not Track” requests. This is because:
a. We do not share Your PII with third parties.
b. The PII we do collect is only used to communicate with You, or to improve Your experience in using the Website.

7. Australian Customers

7.1

We endeavour to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP’s) as contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act) (Law).

7.2

Complaints procedure
We provide a service orientated business. Therefore, if You have a complaint about Our collection or use of Personal and Business Information pertaining to You, then We would ask You to contact Our Privacy Officer at first instance. If after investigating Your complaint and reporting to You about an alleged breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and reporting the results of Our investigations to You, You are not satisfied then We would ask that You consult:

neXtep Business Builder Community Pte Ltd 201424522Z (We, Our, Us and other similar terms) is committed to protecting the personal information We collect from Our users (User, You, Your and other similar terms).

This data breach policy (Data Breach Policy) applies to all personal information held by Us and must be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy. This Data Breach Policy sets out how We will generally respond in the event of a data breach.

For the purpose of this Data Breach Policy, a data breach (Data Breach) occurs where personal information held by Us is lost or subjected to unauthorised access, modification, disclosure, or other misuse or interference.

1. Containment, limitation and preliminary assessment of a Data Breach

Containment and limitation
If We become aware of a Data Breach, or potential Data Breach, We will take reasonable steps to:

contain it; and

limit any harm that has or may occur as a result of it (Containment).

Preliminary assessment
Following Containment, We will undertake a preliminary assessment, intended to identify:

what personal information was subject to the Data Breach;

what was the cause of the Data Breach;

what are the potential consequences of the Data Breach; and

who needs to be informed of the Data Breach, including but not limited to:

internal staff;

external agencies, such as law enforcement bodies; and

potentially affected individuals.

2. Risk evaluation

Risk evaluation
Following Containment and a preliminary assessment, We will undertake a risk evaluation in order to determine what other steps are immediately necessary (Risk Evaluation).

Considerations for Risk Evaluation
In completing a Risk Evaluation, we will consider:

the type of personal information subject to the Data Breach;

the context of the personal information subject to the Data Breach;

the cause and extent of the Data Breach;

the risk of harm to affected individuals; and

the risk of harm to Us.

3. Notification

Application of clause
This clause 3 applies where:

following the Risk Evaluation, We determine in our discretion, but acting reasonably, that:

there has been a Data Breach; and

that Data Breach is likely to result in serious harm to any of the individuals to whom the information the subject of it relates (Eligible Data Breach); or

where we are required under any agreements with third parties, to notify them of any Data Breach.

Eligible Data Breach
In assessing whether a Data Breach is an Eligible Data Breach, We will consider the following matters:

the kind of information;

the sensitivity of the information;

whether the information is protected by security measures;

the likelihood of any security measures being overcome;

the person or persons who have obtained, or could obtain, the information;

if a security technology or methodology designed to make the information unintelligible or meaningless to persons without authority to access it:

was used in relation to the information; and

the likelihood of any such technology or methodology could be circumvented;

the nature of the harm that may result; and

any other relevant matters.

Statement and notification
As soon as practicable, We will prepare a statement setting out:

how any potentially affected individuals may contact Us;

a description of the Eligible Data Breach;

the kinds of information subject to the Eligible Data Breach; and

any actions we recommend affected individuals should take in response (Eligible Data Breach Statement).

We will provide a copy of the Statement to the Information Commissioner if required.
If it is reasonably practicable to do so, we will provide a copy of the Statement to any potentially affected individuals, using their most recent contact details We have on record. We may, in our discretion, publish a copy of the Statement on our Website.

neXtep easy without Goals is just another focus on money - double or triple your profits, and so what?

The reason for setting goals is to have a purpose. You’re not just in the business of making money, you started this venture with a vision. To turn that vision into reality you need to accomplish certain tasks along the way. Tasks mean work, and work is usually a pain. So we use psychological aids to help us. One of those is a measure of how far we have come, both with the individual tasks, and with your ultimate goal.

We see only two possible ultimate goals in business.

One of those is to sell it for a profit, a reward for the time and energy you put into it.

The second is that the business itself is the reward, the way you are able to help others get their jobs done better, with great outcomes.

But with either option we can’t see you wanting to be putting a lot of time in the mechanics of a business. The administration, the finance, the marketing and selling are specialist skills, and most sBiz people have their interest on focus on the technical capabilities of the business.

So for us it makes sense that the first things you raise money for are to get you out of the mechanics.

Lighten the Load. Hire specialists who can make a better difference in their areas than you can

Leverage Technology. Invest in productivity resources, to multiply your time and money inputs

Prepare Your Succession.Get a manager of the mechanics so you can simply drive to where you want to go, hassle free.

There are other interim goals you can set yourself as well.

Rewards for certain milestones you have set yourself - even an initial holiday to reward yourself for all you have done up till now, to give you a chance to recharge yourself for the grand journey ahead.

A secret desire you have that needs funding. Part of your own bucket list.

Things that are important to you, like your kid’s education, or things we can’t even begin to imagine.

The first step is to set your Goals, and with that purpose, set to work. Pause occasionally, watch and enjoy seeing the changes helped along by neXtep easy come to grow the financial means of turning your Goals into reality.

You can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchase date. No questions asked, no hassles. This will cancel your subscription and membership.

Can I Get a Full Refund?

Only within the first 30 days after initial subscription.

Can I Get a Partial Refund?

We don’t give refunds on all or part of current annual subscription - but you’ll have access to all the great resources and community until the end of your current subscription period.

What Happens When I Cancel My Subscription?

You can cancel in the Settings menu under “Cancel Subscription”
We first ensure that your PayPal recurring expense is cancelled, so that you are not billed for any further payments.
You can check that this has occurred - there should be a line entry in the Payments History tab that gives the date of your cancellation.

Can I Get My Data Back from neXtep easy.

Data from your own accounting package always belongs to you, and you can download this at any time.
If your subscription is Annual or you have subscribed monthly for 4 or more months, then you are entitled to download neXtep easy performance data for your business.
We retain your data and metrics for 30 days from cancellation so that your data is not lost should you change your mind.

Thank you for visiting neXtep Business Builder Community Website made available at the URL https://nextepeasy.com (Website). This Income Disclaimer is shown at various parts of our Website. Terms that are capitalised in this document take their meaning from Our Subscription Agreement.

The Application made available for use to Subscribers via the Website is not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of income for your business.

The level of success achieved from using the recommendations that the Application makes depends on various factors, including but not limited to, the amount of time you devote to implementing the recommendations made by the Application, ideas and techniques you use to implementing the recommendations made, the amount of financial resources deployed in pursuing the recommendations and various other factors which are beyond our control. In addition and importantly, the recommendations made require accurate and up to date Data to be incorporated into your accounting software. These factors differ among between businesses and therefore we cannot guarantee the success or income achieved by implementing any of the recommendations made by the Application.

Forward looking statements
Any and all forward-looking statements on any of our Websites or associated with the use of the Application are intended to express our opinion of the Income potential that some business may achieve. They do not create a contractual promise and you should not rely on these statements.

Many factors will be important in determining actual results, and we make no guarantee that you will achieve results similar to ours or anyone else’s. We make no guarantee that you will achieve any results from the ideas and techniques contained on our Website or by using the Application.

To the extent that we included any case studies or testimonials on any of our Websites, you can assume that none of these stories in any way represent the "average" or "typical" customer experience.

In fact, as with any goods or services, we know that some people will purchase access to the Application but never use them at all, and therefore will get no results whatsoever. You should therefore not rely on any representation that use of the Application will increase your income by any particular amount or percentage.

Even though we make no guarantees that use of the Application will produce any particular result for your business, you can still take advantage of our return policy if you are not completely satisfied. In such instances, you can return the product for a refund according to the terms indicated in our refund policy described in the Subscription Agreement.

YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT neXtep Business Builder Community IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SUCCESS OR FAILURE AS A RESULT OF IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE APPLICATION AND WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR PROVIDE ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER THAT OUR SERVICES WILL PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULT FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Check if your growth is healthy - your profit growth should preferably at least match your sales growth, otherwise your business is working harder rather than smarter.

1. Sales are not nearly as important to measure and improve as is profit.

2. Gross Profit is a factor of your prices, the discounts you give away, and your supplier-related costs.

3. Pricing strategies that grow your bottom line without having to increase sales volumes are enormously attractive. If your current net profit is 20%, for example, a direct increase in net profit of 5% can have the same impact as a sales increase of 25%.

This website uses Cookies to collect information about you. If you use this website, then you accept that we can use the Cookies set out below.

1. What are Cookies?

Cookies are small data files which are placed on your computer by this website and which collect certain personal information about you.

2. Why do we use Cookies?

Cookies enable us to tailor our service offering (including the website) and to provide you with a better service.

3. What Cookies do we use?

We use the following Cookies:

Strictly necessary Cookies. These are Cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, Cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website. They do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing purposes or remembering where you've been on the Internet.

Analytical/performance Cookies. They allow us to collect information about how you use our website, such as, how you move around our website and if you experience any errors. These Cookies do not collect any information that could identify you; all of the information collected is anonymous and is only used to help us improve the way our website works, understand what interests our users and measure how effective our advertising is.

Functionality Cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences and improve your visit.

4. How to reject Cookies

If you want to reject any of the Cookies that we use, then you will need to change your website browser settings.

Before you are able to use neXtep easy, we need to tailor our app to your specific needs.

We need to hook up to your accounting software and pull in some data, then learn more about what you do and how you do it, so our future advice to you is as specific as possible, and so we don’t waste your time.

In the process, we will also help you become aware of some of the key features of neXtep easy.

And we will also give you an indication of the immediate potential income improvement you can make.

Fast Track Setup

This track is for people who want to get started real fast.

Supporting explanations are minimised, and you will whizz through.

Learn More Setup

This track is for people who would like a more leisurely approach, and would like to understand more about what neXtep easy is and does.

You will use these Help page sliders more, and gain a deeper understanding of the onboarding process.

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come back later. Clicking this button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

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We love that you love neXtep easy and want your friends, family and business networks to know how great it is as well. Simply click here, and send us their email address and name and we will take care of the rest.

It’s important to complete this section as accurately and completely as possible in order for us to give you the most accurate Action Plan for your business. You can refer back to the Customize section anytime you need to update your details.

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You turn Help Tips on and off with the button above the Page Help tab.

All Help Tips on the page are then visible. Here’s an example from the take Action page before and after you click on the help Tips button:

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Your neXtep easy dashboard takes you past standard business metrics, to summarize and highlight both performance and potential of your great small business.

My Business Health

All financial metrics are summarized into three key areas:

Cash Flow

Profitability

Growth

Click on each of these labels for a detailed description

What is Working Capital?

Working Capital includes:

Accounts Receivable - money due from Customers

Accounts Payable - money due to Suppliers

Inventory - cost value of all forms of inventory neXtep Financials compares the amount of working capital you have with best practice for your industry. The amount shown is what you can potentially release for other opportunities if you meet best practice days.

What Is Profit from Growth?

Profit from Growth includes additional profit available to your business, after meeting best practice for normal profit improvement: neXtep Financials compares your current growth with best practice for your industry. The focus is on profit, not sales. The amount shown is what you can potentially gain if you meet industry best practice for growth of profit.

Profit Increase - Why Is It So Important?

Profit Includes:

Gross Profit, the difference between your Net Sales and Cost of Sales
Net Profit, the difference between your Gross Profit and Expenses.

neXtep Financials compares the amount of Gross Profit and Net Profit you currently generate with best practice for your industry. The amount shown is what you can potentially gain if you meet industry best practice for profit generation.

What Do I Use The Dashboard For?

These are all of the critical metrics used in neXtep Financials. They are listed in decreasing importance of how they are currently affecting your business performance. Red highlights metrics at less than 50% of Best Practice, Yellow highlights less than 75%. You can set targets for these to improve your performance. Then choose the actions that will help you achieve your targets

Help

Information

Cash is the lifeblood of your business and is the first area to manage. Adequate cash flow ensures survival and viability as a business. A good surplus of cash gives you the freedom and options you need to have for a long term plan.

The second is to ensure that you are managing the flow of cash into (Receivables) and out of (Payables) your business, as well as what is transferred into a potential asset (Inventories.)

Product and Services

Increase your profit from the components you offer as your product or service.

Your choices mainly involve:

Increasing your prices

Reducing your cost of sales

Varying the product mix

The recommended quick and dirty solution is to increase your prices.

Longer term, the key to successful selling is to align your offer with a job to be done by your customer. When you align this way, and (just as importantly) help your customer produce perfect outcomes from that job, you are no longer selling a commodity. Now your pricing can increase to match demand.

Similarly, you product or service components should only include the elements that help get the job done well. Any more elements don’t add value for the customer and are wasted cash for you.

We include non-cost items such as warranties that impact on the emotional job to be done, of reassurance.

Most Product Area actions are Smart Tweaks, because they convert improvements directly to the bottom line, as increased cash.

Inventory

Increase your sales and profits by up to 50% the Smart way.

The two key objectives with inventory are to:

increase the availability of top-selling items, while

reducing your cash investment in non-selling products.

The first step in this process is to categorize your inventory.

In most business cases:

Cat

Items

GPShare

Cum.Items

Cum. Profit

A Cat

Top 5%

45%

5%

45%

B Cat

Next 15%

35%

20%

80%

C Cat

Middle 30%

15%

50%

95%

D Cat

Last 50%

5%

100%

100%

It is very common for a business without good inventory management to have an average immediate availability rate of only 65%.

Conversely, that means 35% of your range is not available to your customers at any one time.

With some basic changes you can adjust that so your top sellers are achieving around 98% availability.

This is a 50% improvement in your sales capability.

It’s not only inventory in your possession, it’s also about inventory to hand for the customer. Just by improving your in-store replenishment you can generate a typical 17% increase is sales and profit.

More inventory available to the customer also provides a valuable Impulse items sales increase.

Customer Order Size

Increase profit per customer

Convert awareness of your product or service to a sale.

Optimize that sale.

Focus on helping your customer get their job done and in the process (using a plant nursery analogy), sell the hole and its associated items, not just the plant. The fertiliser, the stake, the gardening gloves, the watering can, the kneeling mat, the sun hat, and the consultancy for garden layout.

That is optimum cross-selling, where your sales efforts are directed to helping your customer get perfect outcomes.

Number of Customer Orders

Increase the number of customer orders generated, from your existing customers and from new customers.

The more customer orders you have, the higher the revenue. Your key concern here is to ensure that your growth in revenue is not more than your growth rate of Gross profit and overheads.

How well can your business scale? A business selling online software can scale easily with little or no additional costs. On the other hand, a service provider selling his/her time has very clear scaling limits.

These Actions include some of the most investment-heavy options, and are generally better left until last when your other actions have generated sufficient cash to carry the costs without risks from loans or mortgages.

Expenses

Every dollar you save in expenses goes immediately to profit. Your first job is to plug any obvious leaks, and look first in the areas of highest variable costs. The 80/20 rule applies here, too. Staff productivity is usually first area of concern.

Actions focus:

Eliminate or at least reduce any overheads that aren’t involved in adding value to your customer.

Delegate approvals and decision-making as close to the action as possible.

Just click “come back later” on the orange button below. You work will be saved.

Note: You will need to complete the onboarding process before you are able to use neXtep easy.

If you feel stuck or need more information, simply click on the yellow “Help” button to the right.

Don’t forget to leave us feedback!

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Here, we’ve calculated your potential for earning additional money from just one of our Action Plan activities for you.

This is an annual increase over your current earnings, before tax.

This increase can be immediate and requires minimal or no outlay from you.

Return on Investment

Here, we show you the comparison between the annual subscription for neXtep easy and the potential increase for you from this one activity.

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In the next few slides we will be showing you what impact a small price increase can have on your business results.

In this first slide we show your current situation.

Data

This data shows your revenue and profit performance over the previous 12 months.

The data is taken from your accounting app.

If you have operating for less than 12 months, then the data is annualised.

Chart

The chart shows the same table data in in a more easily reviewed column format.

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In the next few slides we will be showing you what impact a small price increase can have on your business results.

In this page we highlight the impact of a percentage increase.

This type of increase is something you can apply quickly for immediate positive results.

Data

What You made last 12 months

Here, you are shown first your current annualised revenue

Your price increase goal

In the grey area, you can see we have applied a default Price Increase of 10% across your full range.You can vary that amount, play with different percentages to check the impact.

What you could have (Net Profit)

The result of that % increase in your revised net profit.

Additional cash

Here you can see the actual increase amount you will get, before tax.

The total amount of your price increase flows straight to your bottom line of take home money.

There are no expenses to deduct.

Chart

The data in this chart shows the relative increase in percentage terms.

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In this step you can trial different levels of customer loss, to see the results for yourself.

Data

What you sold last 12 months

Here, you are shown first your current annualised revenue

Lost sales allowance

In the grey area, you can see we have applied default lost sales of 5% across your full range.You can vary that amount, play with different percentages to check the impact.
In reality, most people lose no customers or only 2 or 3% - especially if you follow our Action Plan on how to apply this increase to your optimum advantage.

Revised sales base after loss

The result of that % reduction in your current sales.
This is your new starting position for applying your price increase, for your remaining customers.

Revised net profit after loss

This is your new starting position of net profit before applying the price increase.

Chart

The chart shows the before (blue) and after (green) possible impact of lost sales from a price increase.

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Here is the summary of the net profit position after both a price increase and a loss of some customers.

To keep the data simple we are showing only the net position and the final amount of additional cash you have gained.

Chart

The chart shows the net profit figures in an easy format so you can take in the result at a glance.

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Worried that you will lose your customers if you increase your prices?

Don’t fear a price increase!

For example, with a 10% price increase and current 10% net profit, you would have to lose 50% of your current customers before you are worse off!

Chart

The red line on the chart plots the % price increase effects on different levels of current net profit.

The blue dot on the line represents your own current net profit amount

When you change the price increase % in the box below the chart, this line will move up or down the chart. The blue dot will also move along the line to reflect the change.

From your blue dot, and reading across to the vertical axis on the left, you can see what percentage of customer revenue you would need to lose before our net profit was right back where you started.

For example, with a 10% price increase and current 10% net profit, you would have to lose 50% of your current customers before you are worse off!

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This is an outline only of the Action Plan page you will use to implement a price increase.

The Action Plan not only shows you what but also HOW to go about the activity to get best results.

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Help tips are available on most key pages to help you understand the purpose of information on that page

Access Help Tips

You turn Help Tips on and off with the button above the Page Help tab.

All Help Tips on the page are then visible. Here’s an example from the take Action page before and after you click on the help Tips button:

Before:

After:

Click on any finger to open and read the Tip.

Click on the blue ‘x’ to close the Tip.

Click on ‘Next Tip’ to move to the next Tip in sequence.

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Not all customers are created equal, and not all customer segments are created equal.

You can optimize your profits better when you understanding the characteristics and profitability of different customer segments you WISH to attract.

The trick is to isolate the really critical elements for segmentation, and then apply those to select your most profitable customers to focus on.

Where Customer Mix Fits Into Your Business Success Model

The Importance of Customer Loyalty

Selecting your Customers

In his book “Value-based Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Corporate Growth and Shareholder Value”, Peter Doyle has recommended the following criteria for optimizing customer selection.

Strategic Importance

Customer Significance

Customer Profitability

Customer Loyalty

We use these criteria for ranking customers in neXtep easy.

New Sales vs Customer Success

New customers are expensive, but existing customers come by way of new customers—you can’t have the former without the latter.

And to turn expensive revenue into lean revenue, customers need to be successful immediately.

That means from day one sales reps need to assess the renewal and expansion possibilities for any of their prospects. In the graphic below, it means finding more of the 8% of customers generating exceptional revenue.

If this isn’t a priority for a sales team then they can be acquiring the most costly of revenue: non-profitable revenue. These are customers that are badly qualified and that aren’t going to have success with your product. They’ll churn at the first possible moment, possibly never even escaping the payback period and remaining an outright cost.

This is one of the first points where your sales and customer success teams can work together.

Using their knowledge of current successful customers, customer success managers can spot bad deals before they happen and notify the sales team that a prospect fits this specific profile.

Your ABC Customer categories help you define your retained customers, who are much more profitable. Obviously, your Cat A and cat B customers are your repeat order customers, those you wish to cultivate and retain.

Loyalty Coefficient

Recognizing that some groups of customers are inherently more loyal to your business than others. Discovering these groups can be a goldmine for your business - it helps you focus on who truly adds value, and can help you zero in on the most effective acquisition channels.

People who score your business performance 5/5 on a satisfaction survey are likely to be 6 times more likely to repurchase than those who score you at ⅘.

Channel

A channel or multi-channel path for the job executioner/customer to acquire your product, including their choice(s) for fulfillment.

Your channel selection should first accord with which one/s best help/s you service your most loyal customers.

Consider any time constraints on the customer's acquisition or use of your product. Do they regularly purchase from you on the same day of the week or month? If so, should you direct your marketing campaign to them around those periods?

Customer Lifetime

Every customer you have has a lifecycle with your product.

The length of time a customer stays with you varies - primarily according to their Jobs to be Done, and the competitive benefit you offer in helping them get their jobs done with perfect outcomes. For example, Starbucks have a customer lifetime of 20 years. Many businesses plan on 3 years.

The point of this is that, throughout the life of your business, people will leave you and you will need to replace them.

The clever bit is being proactive about who you choose to replace them.

Customer Segments

There is a lot of information that explains how to segment customers so I will not go into the details.
I will, however, highlight three key points for CS teams to consider when looking at segmenting their customer base as part of their customer expansion strategy:

Maturity model:

Assess how business maturity plays into the adoption of your product.

If your product is self-explanatory and easy to use, this will not factor significantly into your segmentation model.

If, however, you have a complex product that requires CS teams to provide a lot of training or Action Plan, you will likely want to use business maturity as a segmentation criteria.

Revenue potential:

If you want to expand an account, there has to be the potential to do so.

Look at whether your customers will buy more of your product.

If they have bought everything they can, the potential to spend is zero, even if they are a large customer.

You will want to retain these customers but you won’t spend much time selling them more.

Conversely, new customers offer opportunities to sell them more licenses or move into new functional areas of the organization.

Given the high sales potential, you should look at how to incorporate opportunities for customer service teams to build a roadmap for expansion that ties into the customer’s business objectives.

ARR & Company Revenue/Size:

Don’t fall into the trap of believing there is a lot of expansion potential with a customer due to the company’s revenues or size, or because they are currently large spenders with you.

You may have mid-sized companies with more expansion potential than larger companies due to corporate initiatives.

As I mentioned before, it is important to know why your customer purchased your product and what they want to to achieve within their organization.

You need to understand their long-term goals and determine how your product grows with them.

Bottom line

Customer segmentation plays a key part in determining how and with which customers you expand.

Understanding key attributes specific to your product and the industries you serve will help to form the basis for segmentation.

Customer success teams can use this knowledge to determine the best way to move customers forward on their journey while continually maturing their use of your product.

Don’t let revenue dry up like a fish out of water. Build a segmentation model that lets you swimmingly service all customers to their full potential while driving your revenue to its full potential!

How to Improve Gross Margin Production Without Changing Your Prices or Lowering Your Costs

To improve profit performance, most people naturally assume that you have to raise your prices or lower your costs---preferably doing both at the same time.

But your prices and your costs are not the only variables in the equation.

In this video guide, you'll learn:

How and why your customer mix may have even more influence on profits than your pricing.

Why certain customers are inherently more profitable than others and how to identify them.

How one company managed their customer mix to improve revenues, profits, and retention.

A straightforward approach you can use to begin proactively managing your mix with less risk.

If you, my supplier, are next door to my shop with a hole in the wall between us, I have no need for inventory. When a customer comes in and asks for an item, I call out to you and you pass me the item. Almost instantaneous.

But the further away you, my supplier, move, the more need I have for stock to sell to my customer. There’s more time involved in getting that stock from you.

Also the way you send stock to me affects the amount of time involved. A jet plane or a slow boat from China?

So time affects stock levels –

increase time, increase stock

reduce time and you reduce stock.

The Three Elements of Time

The Time factor has three elements that affect how much inventory you will hold.

Review Period

Lead Time

Safety Stock

Review Period.

This is the period between placing orders.

How often do you order?

If you order every day you need to order less than ordering every month. T

The actual period will be a balance between the costs to place the order in your own business and with your supplier versus the cost of freight and savings in inventory.

Weekly and monthly review periods are most common in sBiz.

Our default values in neXtep easy Inventory Model are:

Cat A - 7 Days - keep a tight overview on these items

Cat B - 14 Days - keep a close, burt not tight overview of these items

This is the most critical time factor, the amount of time it takes to place an order and get inventory from your supplier.

Our default value for Lead Time is 30 days, but you can adjust that to suit your business.

There are three Lead Time elements involved:

the time it takes your business to realize a need, approve and place the order

the time it takes for the supplier to receive and process your order, prepare the items for you, and deliver.

the time it takes you to check the delivery, place the item in inventory and add it to your stock record so people know it’s available for sale.

Safety Stock.

Safety stock is used to cover variations in demand during your lead time.

The bigger the variation around your average demand, the more safety stock you need during Lead Time.

For quick and simple safety stock, we suggest:

Cat A - one month

Cat B - two weeks

Cat C - no safety stock

Cat D - no safety stock

Reducing Your Inventory Time

Review Period and Safety Stock are totally under your control and most easily reduced.

Lead Time has two of the three elements under your control also. Work with your supplier to cooperatively reduce their lead times.

Three Interactive Transaction Flows Affecting Time

Time also is impacted by the three inter-related transaction flows during lead time.

These flows are generally tied in time to the flow of the slowest element. These are:

Flow of information - use electronic transfers wherever possible, integrated with your supplier, including agreed business rules for approvals.

Flow of money - electronic funds transfer wherever possible

Flow of items - balanced between flow speed and cost of freight, Consider also warehousing costs - the slower the flow, the more inventory has to be held to cover the extended lead time, and holding inventory costs money.

This is how you set your inventory and reorder point levels.

Your Min (minimum level) is the time combination of (Lead Time + Safety Stock) X Demand. When your inventory drops to this level, it is time to order so you don’t run out of stock.

Your Max (maximum level) is your Min + (Review Period x Demand).

When you reorder, your reorder quantity takes you back up to the Max. Very simple, but very effective

Average Demand

Converting Annual Sales to Average Daily Demand

To create average demand we use annual sales and divide by 12.

What Are We likely to Sell Tomorrow?

Nobody really knows exactly what quantity you will sell today or tomorrow.

So people make estimates, which are called a forecast.

Forecasts are generally a combination of what you have sold before adjusted by what you think will happen tomorrow.

You don’t have to be precise to start. Just buying the same quantity you sold last week or month is better than no system at all.

neXtep easy doesn’t yet provide a means for you to add a forecast adjustment to your sales history of demand.

Instead, use your Safety Stock - add a percentage factor for known growth (or reduction as a negative)

Calculating Max and Min Values

This is how you set your inventory and reorder point levels.

Max

Your Max (maximum level) is your Min + (Review Period x Demand).

Min

Your Min (minimum level) is the time combination of (Lead Time + Safety Stock) X Demand. When your inventory drops to this level, it is time to order so you don’t run out of stock.

When you reorder, your reorder quantity takes you back up to the Max. Very simple, but very effective.

In 2016, email had a median ROI of 122% — a 4x higher return than other marketing channels. - Direct Marketing Association

Shopping Carts

Most retailers that use triggered emails report abandoned cart emails to be the most effective.

Shopping Carts

The average online retailer experiences 65% shopping cart abandonment. Of this 65 percent, only 2% of the abandoned carts are recovered - windsorcircle.com

On average, just 2% of e-commerce website visitors are expected to make a purchase3 , but 5% will register their email address with your brand4 . The potential is huge: if you attract 100,000 visits to your website per month, that’s 5,000 new shoppers providing you with their information, asking to be engaged. Most marketing experts agree that it takes an average of 7 contacts with a prospect before they’ll buy - when we consider this, we understand thats it’s critical to leverage new email addresses to drive those 7 contacts quickly and effectively. After all, 69% of a customer’s first-year spend comes during their first 30 days as a customerZaius

three in every four abandoned carts are recoverable with proper campaign execution7Zaius

Remember, the keys to success are simple - stop treating all of your customers the same, and start using customer behavior to inform your communications with them.
This means understanding that email alone is not enough because not all customers respond to email. It means engaging with your customers in real-time, when they’re engaging with you.
It means meeting your customers’ expectations of a consistent, personalized experience with your brand across all channels and devices.Zaius

“A 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%.”–Bain & Company

Customer Lifetime Marketing

“80% of companies’ marketing budgets are spent on acquiring shoppers; however, for every 1% of shoppers who become repeat customers, a company’s revenue will increase by about 10%.”–Adobe

Customer Lifetime Marketing

“The key to success in CLM is behind optimising for Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and not conversion rate (CR) or revenue per visit (RPV).
This is not to say conversion rate doesn’t have its place – it’s a very important metric in the right scenario.
However the hierarchy is what is important.
CLV trumps all others as a metric for long term profitability.”
–Edward Gotham,Ometria

“Companies that prioritize the customer experience generate 60% higher profits than their competitors.”–Kapow

customer experience

“A commitment to customer experience results in up to 25% more customer retention and revenue than sales or marketing initiatives.”–Bizsum

On average,

only 20% of first-time buyers will make a second purchase - but if you’re able to get a customer to make that repeat purchase,

45% of repeat buyers make a third purchase, and

60% of those buyers make a fourth.

• Overall revenue increases by approximately 10% for each 1% of shoppers who return for a subsequent purchase.
This means that if online retailers retained 10% more of their existing customers, they would double their revenue.
• The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% on average, while the probability of selling to a new shopper is only 5-20%.
• On average, returning customers spend 67% more than first-time customers.Zaius

Loyalty

a “totally satisfied customer” spends 2.6x as much as a “somewhat satisfied customer,” Zaius

If online retailers retained 10% more of their existing customers, they would double their revenueZaius

Take a look at the figure above. You’ll see that repeat visitors account for just 8% of total traffic on U.S. e-commerce sites. However, they account for over 40% of the revenue generated. Imagine the possibilities if only businesses spent a little more TLC on these repeat buyers, who come back to you right now of their own accord?

In its Annual Ecommerce Benchmark Study, MarketingSherpa set out to discover how much it costs to acquire a new customer. Over half of all respondents reported that their new customer acquisition costs had stayed steady across 2013, while a third of them felt acquisition costs were on the rise.

The median cost of acquiring new customers according to the survey ranged between $12 and $25. This is five times more than the cost of retaining an existing customer.

It gets better.

The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% as against the measly 5-20% chance of selling to a new one.
Repeat customers are not just easier to sell to. They also spend more per transaction than a brand new customer.

According to research by Manta and BIA/Kelsey, repeat customers outspend new customers by 67%.

Cross-Sell / Upsell

Research puts the chance for cross-selling success to existing customers at 60-70%. The probability of cross-selling to a new customer, on the other hand, is a much lower 5-20%.????

Win-Back Campaigns

win-back email campaigns had a 12% read (or open) rate - a reasonable rate given the lack of any recent activity.

45% of recipients who received a win-back campaign read a subsequent message;

of that group, just 24% had read the first winback message.

Seventy-five percent of re-engaged subscribers had read a subsequent message within 89 days, and

the other 25% were still opening messages up to 300 days after receiving the first win-back campaign.

81% of consumers said they have looked up inventory on a retailer’s website before visiting the store and

80% are less inclined to visit a store if a website does not provide current product availability

92% of consumers reported interactive content influences them to make a purchase.

In the past six months,
93% of consumers have reviewed product ratings before purchasing an item
57% of consumers reported that most of the time loyalty drove their purchasingConsumer Trends Report 2017

Here is a letter template for advising customers that you are ceasing standard discounts previously offered to them.

You can adjust this template for your own use.

The strategy involved here is to recognise that pretty much everyone first considers price only when you haven’t successfully demonstrated the value your customer receives.

So move the conversation away from price.

Instead, you need to demonstrate the value you provide.

Customers are primarily interested in getting the outcomes they require from the jobs they are doing.

In your business, you know what jobs people use your products and services for, and what outcomes they are looking for, so you need to highlight the value you provide in meeting those needs. That trumps price for the customers you want to retain, any day.

Hello

On this page we would like you to check and confirm data you have already entered in your payment or free trial registration.

You will notice a non-editable and unique username - this is provided for you, and is used for your login instead of an email.

You are able to change your name and email at any time after onboarding.

Profile Strength Circle

This circle indicates your progress in providing the data we need for the onboarding process.

You can check your progress strength on any page where onboarding data is required.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Congratulations!

You have completed the onboarding process!

You have:
successfully connected with your accounting app. collected data and set up your financial metrics. calculated the best activity to start with (you will see Action Plan for that in a minute.) seen how nextep can generate a lot of additional cash for you from just one example activity. set goals in how you wish to make use of your additional cash and time.

Buttons

click to take action. Clicking this green button will: complete the onboarding process take you forward to the Take Action page, and selection of your first Action Plan.

Seek people who can add to your business competency and faster growth.

Employ a general manager

Reduce your working hours, work ON not FOR your business

Early bucket list - enjoy!

Start your bucket list early - like a vacation to a special location.

If you don’t wish to set goals now you can skip this step

Track your Goals

We can report these Goals and your progress towards achieving them within neXtep easy.

Like this:

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

skip. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Use the blue buttons on the left to prioritize your preferences for using the additional cash and time that neXtep easy is likely to help you achieve.

You can save this list then review it and adjust it at any time later.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

“The best businesses are sellable, and smart business people believe that you should build a company to be sold even if you have no intention of cashing out or stepping back anytime soon.” - Bo Burlingham.

“You should always run a company as if it will last forever, and yet you should also strive constantly to maximize its value, building in the qualities that allow it to be sold at any moment for the highest price buyers are paying for businesses like yours.” - Jack Stack.

You will be looking to build and scale an attraactive business that

can operate without you,

creates regular, predictable wealth,

has a sales engine with predictable pipeline outcomes,

has a list of high quality customers with great lifetime value,

a strong management team with incentives to stay on,

competent staff that can deliver your product with superb reliability.

Option - Build to Own.

According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, the average small business owner works 52 hours a week, with more than 20 percent working seven days a week.

The U.S. Census Bureau says 88.6 percent of all U.S.-based companies still require the owner to be there as the primary person responsible for core functions like producing their product or service, managing the day-to-day operations, or managing the financial aspects of the business.

If you want to get out of this type of rat race, but still love being in a business, then you need a plan to work ON your business rather than IN your business.

In fact, you will need to do everything required of someone looking to sell their business, plus hiring a top-class CEO to run the business for you.

Option - Build to Enjoy.

With this option, you will aim to be fully involved in the business every day, but will be able to delegate the operational functions and processes to competent staff.

For your business to be sustainable over time, you too will need to achieve all the requirements of someone wanting to sell their business.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

Once you have finished your onboarding process you can come back at any time to adjust your customization settings.

Open the main menu on the header bar on any page, and click ‘Customize’

This will take you to the set of Customization pages you are now familiar with.

Choose the page you want and adjust the content as you wish.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

next. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Personalise your business and help others in the neXtep community get to know you.

My Photo

Head and top of shoulders gives a useful image to use.

My Business Logo

We will use your business logo on selected reports you choose to print..

Profile Strength Circle

This circle indicates your progress in providing the data we need for the onboarding process.

You can check your progress strength on any page where onboarding data is required.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Each category must have at least one response befor you can save the contents on this page and move forward.

Our Sales Channels

Physical location -

Website -

Agent -

Other -

Our Charging Methods

Cash -

Debit/Credit Cards -

Invoice -

Other -

What We Offer

The first option you have provides options of products and/or services.

Products -

Services -

If you click Products, then go are shown an additional set of choices

Physical products -

Virtual products -

If you select Physical products, then you have an additional choice:

we stock inventory for sale -

we stock inventory for rent -

Profile Strength Circle

This circle indicates your progress in providing the data we need for the onboarding process.

You can check your progress strength on any page where onboarding data is required.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Here, we’ve calculated again your potential for earning additional money from just one of our Action Plan activities for you.

This is an annual increase over your current earnings, before tax.

This increase can be immediate and requires minimal or no outlay from you.

Return on Investment

Here, we show you the comparison between the annual subscription for neXtep easy and the potential increase for you from this one activity.

Surplus Working Capital

We’ve made a quick calculation of what your working capital situation is compared with your industry revenue group, and show here potential for releasing money tied up in unnecessary assets such as Outstanding Debtors and Inventory.

Later, you will get specific step by step Action Plan on how to win that money back.

Get Your Annual Subscription Now !

If we’ve already convinced you that neXtep esy will e a fabulous investment for your business then you can convert your Free Trial immediately into an annual subscription, and save $240 over the monthly subscription rate.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

next. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

This is your business operating location. We use this location to show relevant currency symbols for your report and forms. If you are an online business, then use the country where you produce your business regulatory reports.

People employed (including you)

This information helps us with Action Plan related to you.

I’ve been operating this business for...years

If you’re a newbie then we will put you on a different Action Plan track to ensure your cash flow is building well before anything else.

Profile Strength Circle

This circle indicates your progress in providing the data we need for the onboarding process.

You can check your progress strength on any page where onboarding data is required.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Your primary industry is the activity where you generate most of your income.

This is the industry that will be compared against global best practice and targets set.

Add additional business activities

Many small businesses perform more than one activity that generate revenue, and this page provides you with the means to add those secondary activities.

These will be used to produce additional specific Action Plan for your business.

Use the blue + sign to add a new secondary industry

Then select from the drop down menu.

As you type in the menu space, you are given a range of choices, that reduces as your typing continues:

Remove business activities from your list

Use the red - sign to remove an industry

Profile Strength Circle

This circle indicates your progress in providing the data we need for the onboarding process.

You can check your progress strength on any page where onboarding data is required.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

save. Clicking this green button will:

store the information you entered on this page, and

take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process.

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Each of these 3 vital signs represents a related group of your financial metrics.

Cash Flow. We also call this your Survival metric.

Profitability

Growth

These metrics of yours are compared with best practice in your industry for your revenue group.

So the percentages shown here (and the black bar on each chart) indicate your business performance against your peers.

How We Use this Information

The vital signs are ranked in importance and so are your business financial metrics within each vital sign.

We use this information to choose the best action for you to take, right now. So all you have to focus on is the most important ranked action chosen for you.

The related Action Plan (green button on this page) helps you through the steps of the activities and tasks for that action.

Additional Information

Each blue, underlined text set is a link to further information and help on the topic involved.

Simply click on the link and a popup will open to show you more.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

next. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Popup Information

Additional Information

Each blue, underlined text set is a link to further information and help on the topic involved.

Simply click on the link and a popup will open to show you more.

TRY IT in this example.

Click the ‘x’ top right corner, to close the popup.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

next. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

You can view the data in chart format by clicking on the link at top of the white section of the page.

Buttons

back. Clicking this green button will take you back to the previous page.

next. Clicking this green button will take you forward to the next page in the onboarding process

come back later. Clicking this orange button will take you back to the start of the onboarding process, and log you out. Your work will be saved, and whenever you come back to complete onboarding, you will start again exactly where you last left off.

Total Data Chart

Chart

This table shows the complete data from Step 1 and Step 2.

Here also, you can play with the % increase to see the impact.

Table

You can view the data in table format by clicking on the link at top of the white section of the page.

You need to go back to the table before you can move on to the next onboarding page.

If you’re interested, you can ‘Click here’ to see a more detailed popover of the data gathering and data processing steps.

Data Gathering and Data Processing Steps

This popover tracks you through the various steps we need to take to gather and process your initial set of data from your accounting app.

Click on any of the blue buttons for more information about each step in the process.

Authorization accepted. Your authorization of the connection to your accounting app has been noted.

First month data collected. We collect the required accounting data from your previous month. This month then becomes our ‘Base’ month against which all future work with you iws compared.

Historical data collected - 13 months. We then collect all the data for the remaining 13 months of your operations, or as many months as there have been up to 13 months - this data gives us a full year to compare.

Your metrics calculated. From the data available from your accounting app, we calculate up to 16 different financial ratios or metrics.

Industry metrics compared. We then compare your own financial metrics against those for your industry and revenue group. These will be used to determine what is most urgent for you to work on immediately to improve your business.

Go Back Button - Clicking this link will take you back to the overview popover.

Data Gathering - Step 2

This screen will show while we are gathering the second lot of data from your accounting app.

In this step, we are going back for (up to) five years, so we can calculate trends in your business.

If you’re interested, you can ‘Click here’ to see a more detailed popover of the data gathering and data processing steps.

Data Gathering and Data Processing Steps

This popover tracks you through the various steps we need to take to gather and process your initial set of data from your accounting app.

Click on any of the blue buttons for more information about each step in the process.

Authorization accepted. Your authorization of the connection to your accounting app has been noted.

First month data collected. We collect the required accounting data from your previous month. This month then becomes our ‘Base’ month against which all future work with you iws compared.

Historical data collected - 13 months. We then collect all the data for the remaining 13 months of your operations, or as many months as there have been up to 13 months - this data gives us a full year to compare.

Your metrics calculated. From the data available from your accounting app, we calculate up to 16 different financial ratios or metrics.

Industry metrics compared. We then compare your own financial metrics against those for your industry and revenue group. These will be used to determine what is most urgent for you to work on immediately to improve your business.

Go Back Button - Clicking this link will take you back to the overview popover.

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